Lay Me to Sleep
by BigBlacKitty
Summary: Kurogane sensei hates flying...only this time, there's something to keep his attention far from air turbulences. [KuroFai, Holitsuba Gakuen]


Kurogane hated flying.

And quite frankly, if Yuuko-sensei hadn't bribed him with business class tickets and a promise of new sport equipment, the man knew he wouldn't have set foot in a plane unless his very life depended on it. For there was something uncanny about traveling a thousand miles over the ground in a metal tube so heavy it should never have been brought into the air in the first place. A tube that, along with its own weight, transported thousands of people and an equally heavy cargo of luggage and machinery, all cramped together in a tight space lined with crappy seats and narrow aisles, all sporting an unbearable stench of petrol and stale cigarettes that still tingled in Kurogane's nose from the moment the first whiff of it had hit him. And, in the man's opinion, there were many comfortable ways of transport, but shoving your safety into the hands of a man you never got to set your eyes on, whose existence was merely hinted on by a crackled voice over the intercom and who was supposed to navigate a plane across Japan at 2 am in the morning was definitely not one of them. If the man had been drinking--

Suppressing a shudder, Kurogane leaned back into his seat, determined to keep his thoughts as far away from the danger zone as possible. It was no use getting all worked up about it…But blocking out the numerous horrendous airplane scenarios from those cheap thriller movies he had been forced to watch with Fai while temporarily camping on his couch at the time was harder to accomplish than it seemed. In the end, Kurogane settled for the next best alternative and grabbed the fresh glass of whiskey off the table in front of him and gulped the whole thing down.

Yep, he _definitely_ hated flying.

Annoyingly enough, Fai-sensei didn't really seem to mind. He had been positively thrilled when he had been told that he was to evaluate that new school that had opened somewhere in Kyoto, and even more thrilled (if that was humanly possible) when he had found out that the gruff gym teacher would be accompanying him on their little 'excursion'. He had called and woken Kurogane five hours before their flight, drowning him in a hurricane of questions such as what to wear, what to pack and whether or not it was wise to bring something to eat, all of which the man had had to painfully answer and explain over the telephone, to prevent Fai from making a fool out of both of them. But now, settled in the comfortable, voluminous chairs of business class, Kurogane couldn't help but think that the hyper chemistry teacher looked horribly out of place.

He had curled up to sleep only a few minutes after take-off, exhausted by the excitement of the Tokyo Central Airport, with it's many shops and halls, it's bright lights and the dozens of planes parked outside. Kurogane had literally had to keep his hand firmly at the man's collar to prevent him from being run over in the thrill of it all. But as he laid there now, his slender frame looking lost and almost vulnerable in the large seat, his blond hair a sleepy mess over his eyes and his mouth cutely half open, the gym teacher felt his insides coil with an emotion he couldn't quite explain. Something tinged with affection and pity as he saw that thin chest steadily rise and fall, limp arms crossed as if to protect himself from a blow that could strike him off his guard. The absence of the impressively white starched lab coat had an equally noticeable effect and, slumped there in his simple black tee and flabby jeans, Fai looked more like a child than a grown man with a steady job...

Kurogane sighed, ripping his eyes away from the science teacher as he felt a not quite familiar tingling in his cheeks, rising up from his neck and leaving a strangely warm glow behind. Why the hell was he _looking_ at him like that? After all, Fai was probably the most annoying and troublesome individual he had ever had the misfortune to work with –let alone spend most of his free time with- but there was no, absolutely _no_, reason why he should be staring at him, especially when he was asleep.

But then again, the dim business class lounge really didn't have anything better to offer. Everyone else was deeply locked in sleep themselves, or buried in some form of entertainment. The stewardesses had long since departed with the drink trolley and probably wouldn't be returning in a hurry and the selection of magazines in his seat pocket (all of which Fai had leafed through with rapt interest) were far beyond his own. There were only his thoughts left to turn back to and, with a new topic to shove away to the back of his mind; it was far more difficult to think of anything in any way soothing. And the occasional shudder of the plane that made Kurogane's knuckles tighten on his armrest wasn't exactly helpful either.

Only, it was a strangled whimper of discomfort that made the gym teacher finally turn back to the other, all remaining thoughts wiped clear from his mind. But, unlike what he had guessed, Fai hadn't awoken yet, his body merely twitching in the torment of a dream Kurogane could never enter. He had curled up tighter in his seat, knees almost touching his chest as he pulled them up off the floor, his head tucked down in feeble defense as another series of twitches rocked his body, causing the gym teacher to tense in his chair, his heart pounding in a strange rhythm he had only now just come to experience.

Closing his eyes in a useless attempt of authorizing what he was about to do, Kurogane reached out and dragged the man out of his seat, pulling him onto his lap. He ignored the fleetingly shocked look from the man on the other aisle, briefly fixing him with a snarl that suggested he'd better return to his book before he smashed it around his head and returned his attention to Fai, drawing him gently closer.

Fai's eyebrows furrowed for a moment, barely visible through those soft tufts of hair and opened his eyes, groggy, blue orbs meeting the alert red pair of the man above him and he blinked before smiling, strangely content with his current position.

"Why Kuro-sama sensei…" he giggled tiredly for a moment, snuggling closer. "Are we there yet…?" Kurogane removed one arm from the man's frame to gaze at his watch. 4 am.

"Not in a long time…" he answered, readjusting himself in his seat before leaning his head back. "Go back to sleep, idiot…"

The chemistry teacher smiled again, settling down into the man's lap, his legs still sprawled out on his own seat, and closed his eyes. He had relaxed and Kurogane found himself feeling strangely relieved as he watched the man's breathing slow once more, his face bare and peaceful in more pleasant dreams. But not before Fai reached up and ran his hands up the gym teacher's chest, resting somewhere in the middle to grasp weakly at the material of his shirt, fingers loosening gradually as sleep took him.

Tightening his hold around the slender man, Kurogane smirked, watching Fai as he gradually drifted back into oblivion, his delicate fingers still holding on to him as though he were the only guarantee of ever waking up again.

And before he had a chance to fight it, Kurogane eyes flickered shut, but his arms still held the other fast, locking them in a protective embrace that not even a renewed shudder of air-turbulences could manage to break.


End file.
